Raul Garcia III joined as an assistant coach at Minnesota State in 2019, but he is no stranger to the world of soccer. He was previously the assistant coach at Hamline University for three years where he helped coach their team to the schools first ever post season MIAC playoff appearance in 2016. He has been coaching for over two decades at all levels of the game. His club teams have won state, district, regional and USA Cup championships at the youth, high school and collegiate levels.
In 2019, The Mavericks had 19 wins for the second straight season, which is tied for second most in program history. The final record for the year was 19-4-1 with a 12-3 conference record, good for second in the regular season. MSU started the season out with five consecutive shutouts, including wins over then-No. 4 Central Missouri and then-No. 1 Grand Valley State in the same weekend at The Pitch. The Mavericks moved on to win their fourth consecutive NSIC Tournament Championship, earning the top seed for the central region. Minnesota State advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament for the second time in school history with the first coming in the 2012 season.
A native Texan, he was very active in sports at John F. Kennedy High School in San Antonio, Texas, playing football, basketball, baseball as well as running cross country and track. In the summer, he doubled up with baseball and soccer. Raul attended Texas Lutheran University before heading to the northern climate in 1996. He got his Masters degree from Luther Seminary in St. Paul and stayed in town ever since. He is married to Rhea, who’s a kindergarten teacher, and has two girls Grace and Trinity. Loves to cook, garden, make salsa, play music, and spend time with his family and his dog Marty.
